By Jessica Toonkel and Joe Flint
The Federal Communications Commission requested that Paramount Global hand over its footage and transcripts from an October CBS News "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris as part of its review of the company's planned merger with Skydance Media.
The interview has prompted a personal lawsuit from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
CBS News in a statement said that it is working to comply with the FCC's request for the "full, unedited transcript and camera feeds from our interview with Vice President Harris which aired on October 7, 2024."
Trump's lawsuit against CBS, which seeks $10 billion in damages, alleges that the network committed election interference by editing portions of an interview with Harris, favoring her campaign for president. Trump claimed CBS aired one version of the interview in a segment on its Sunday morning news magazine show "Face the Nation" that was not flattering to the vice president, and then another version in the full interview on that evening's episode of "60 Minutes."
CBS has said it aired a more succinct version of Harris's interview on "60 Minutes."
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has made it clear to Paramount executives that the agency's review of its merger with Skydance will be tough and has said that bias accusations against Paramount's CBS News are fair game for the agency. In a November Fox News interview, he cited a news-distortion complaint against CBS from the Center for American Rights as an element he would consider during the merger review.
The FCC has the authority over the transaction because it would involve the transfer of broadcast television licenses held by CBS.
--Drew FitzGerald contributed to this article.
Write to Jessica Toonkel at jessica.toonkel@wsj.com and Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 31, 2025 15:32 ET (20:32 GMT)
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